What Astor Piazzolla did for the Argentine tango, the French accordionist Richard Galliano did for the musette, the French ballroom dance music of the early twentieth century. Galliano brought about a revival of this dead genre and integrated improvisation into it, as he had learned from American jazz, his childhood sweetheart. Life as a jazz accordionist turned out not to be the easiest way to earn
… a living, but fortunately in 1973 he was appointed as conductor, arranger and composer of Claude Nougaro's orchestra. Until 1976 he played with greats such as Chet Baker, Joe Zawinul, and Toots Thielemans. After that, his mission to revive the musette took all his time. With five compositions by Astor Piazolla, L'Hymne AL ' Amour can be seen as a tribute to this grand master of tango music. A striking guest role is reserved for Gary Burton whose clear vibraphone sound forms a beautiful unity with Galliano's melancholy accordion. (AD)more
